Coalition for the Homeless Responds to Mayor’s Record Affordable Housing Claim

Posted on January 16, 2019

NEW YORK, NY – The following statement is in response to Mayor de Blasio’s announcement today that his administration financed 34,160 affordable homes last year, setting a new high-water mark for affordable housing production in New York City.

Statement from Giselle Routhier, Policy Director at Coalition for the Homeless:

“Mayor de Blasio is crowing about financing more than 34,000 units of affordable housing last year, but out of all the units he has financed to date, and in the face of ever-rising record homelessness, a measly four percent were developed for homeless individuals and families, apart from the Mayor’s separate commitment to create supportive housing for homeless individuals living with a severe mental illness or other disability. Barely 1,000 units per year for homeless households over 5 years is a travesty when 63,600 homeless individuals sleep in shelters every single night. Moreover, most of these units are being ‘preserved,’ meaning they are already occupied and not available to provide a housing placement for a currently homeless person. We are urging Mayor de Blasio to immediately get his housing plan on track to create 30,000 units of housing for homeless families and individuals, including 24,000 to be created directly through new construction. This would entail financing about 2,500 new units for homeless New Yorkers each year for the remaining life of the housing plan.”

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